JP2006013107A - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of noncontact positioning of a substrate at a desired processing position. <P>SOLUTION: When a substrate W to be processed is carried to a substrate delivery position P1 by a transfer robot, the substrate W to be processed is floated by inert gas being ejected toward the lower surface thereof from a substrate floating head 71. Subsequently, the substrate floating head 71 floating the substrate W to be processed is lowered through action of an actuator 74. When the substrate W to be processed reaches a substrate processing position P3, a circumferential edge on the lower surface of the substrate W engages with a supporting pin 3 and when the substrate floating head 71 is lowered furthermore, the substrate W to be processed is delivered to the supporting pin 3 and mounted thereon. Consequently, the substrate W is positioned at the substrate processing position P3 and the circumferential edge on the lower surface of the substrate W faces the opposing surface 5b of a spin base 5 under proximate state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that performs a process such as a cleaning process on various substrates such as a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for photomask, a glass substrate for liquid crystal display, a glass substrate for plasma display, and an optical disk substrate.

  Conventionally, as this type of substrate processing apparatus, a substrate is held in a horizontal state with a slight lift from a support (base member) on which a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer is placed, and a photoresist solution and a cleaning solution are rotated while the support is rotated. 2. Description of the Related Art A substrate processing apparatus that supplies a processing liquid such as a top surface of a substrate or processes a top surface of a substrate with a cleaning mechanism such as a cleaning brush is known (see Patent Document 1). In the substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a plurality of substrate support pins are erected on a support base, and the substrate is positioned and held by abutting these substrate support pins against the edge of the substrate. Yes. Then, processing of the upper surface of the substrate is performed by supplying the processing liquid while the substrate is rotated, or by bringing the cleaning mechanism into contact with the substrate. As described above, in the conventional apparatus, since the substrate is held in a state of being slightly lifted from the surface of the support base, damage and contamination of the lower surface of the substrate that occur when the substrate is placed in contact with the support base can be avoided. .

JP-A-10-275766 (3rd, 4th page, FIG. 2)

  By the way, in the apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the substrate is held in a state of being floated from the surface of the support table by the substrate support pins, and a predetermined surface treatment (substrate treatment) is performed on the substrate at this substrate treatment position. . In other words, the substrate is positioned at a substrate processing position away from the support base and subjected to surface treatment. Then, a substrate transport mechanism such as a transport arm places the substrate on the substrate support pins or receives the substrate supported by the substrate support pins. More specifically, the transfer arm is inserted into a space formed between the substrate at the substrate processing position and the turntable to carry in / out the substrate. For this reason, in order to allow the transfer arm to enter, the space between the substrate and the support base needs to be larger than the vertical height of the transfer arm. For this reason, the substrate processing position is restricted by the height in the vertical direction of the transfer arm, and the substrate and the support base cannot be sufficiently brought close to each other. As a result, the following problems occur. That is, when the distance between the substrate and the support base becomes relatively wide, there arises a problem that the mist-like processing liquid and particles scattered during the substrate processing wrap around and adhere to the lower surface of the substrate, and the lower surface of the substrate is contaminated.

  Here, in order to prevent contamination on the lower surface of the substrate, an elevating member such as a lift pin is provided on the support base and the lift pin is driven up to receive the substrate, and the lift pin is driven down to increase the distance between the substrate and the support base. Narrowing is also conceivable. However, in this case, since it is necessary to bring the lift pins into contact with the lower surface of the substrate, the lower surface of the substrate is damaged or contaminated by the lift pins themselves. Further, since the lift pins are driven to move up and down, the structure becomes complicated and further particles are generated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of positioning a substrate at a desired substrate processing position in a non-contact manner.

  A substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus that performs a predetermined process on a substrate positioned in a substantially horizontal state at a substrate processing position that is spaced a predetermined distance upward from a base member. A substrate floating head that floats the substrate in a substantially horizontal state by discharging gas from a discharge port provided on a support surface facing the substrate lower surface toward the lower surface of the substrate, and a vertical movement of the substrate floating head relative to the base member And a substrate driving position provided above the substrate processing position and a lift driving means for moving and positioning the substrate to the substrate processing position. .

  In the invention configured as described above, the substrate floats in a substantially horizontal state from the support surface of the substrate floating head by the gas discharged from the substrate floating head toward the bottom surface of the substrate. For this reason, the substrate is supported by the substrate floating head in a non-contact manner. Then, the substrate is supported in a non-contact state, and the substrate is moved up and down relative to the base member relative to the base member so that the substrate transfer position is provided above the substrate processing position, and the substrate processing is performed. Moved to position. As described above, since the substrate is transferred at the substrate transfer position above the substrate processing position, the substrate processing position is restricted by the circumstances at the time of transferring the substrate, for example, the vertical height of the substrate transfer mechanism (transfer arm, etc.). The substrate can be positioned at a desired substrate processing position. Therefore, the position where the base member and the substrate are sufficiently close can be set as the substrate processing position. Thus, since the substrate can be positioned in a non-contact manner and at a substrate processing position close to the base member, problems such as damage or contamination of the lower surface of the substrate can be prevented.

  Here, the base member has a recess having a planar size larger than the planar size of the substrate floating head at the center of the upper surface, and at least the lower part of the substrate floating head is lowered when the substrate floating head is lowered. When configured to enter the recess, at least the lower part of the substrate floating head can enter the internal space of the recess of the base member when the substrate is positioned at the substrate processing position. For this reason, it is possible to bring the substrate lower surface and the base member closer. Further, in the vertical direction, the recess is deeper than the height of the substrate floating head, and when the substrate floating head is lowered, if the entire substrate floating head is retracted into the recess, the substrate floating head is The substrate can be positioned using the position where the lower surface of the substrate and the facing surface of the base member are sufficiently close to each other as the substrate processing position without causing any obstacles in reducing the distance between the facing surface of the member.

  Further, a regulating means for regulating the movement of the substrate in the horizontal direction is further provided, and the elevating drive means controls the substrate relative to the base member while regulating by the regulating means that the substrate lifted by the substrate flying head is moved in the horizontal direction. It is desirable that the substrate is moved and positioned between the substrate delivery position and the substrate processing position by relatively moving the flying head up and down. Thus, by restricting the movement of the substrate in the horizontal direction by the restricting means, the substrate is smoothly guided and positioned at the substrate delivery position and the substrate processing position without jumping out from the substrate floating head in the horizontal direction.

  Here, the substrate floating head causes the substrate to float while adsorbing the substrate close to the support surface by the Bernoulli effect by discharging the gas upward from the discharge port toward the lower surface of the substrate and toward the edge of the substrate. Also good. In this way, when the gas is discharged upward from the substrate floating head toward the lower surface of the substrate and discharged toward the edge of the substrate, a force for attracting the substrate to the support surface by the Bernoulli effect acts. As a result, the substrate is floated in the proximity of the support surface of the substrate floating head. Therefore, the substrate can be stably positioned at the substrate delivery position and the substrate processing position while being adsorbed to the substrate floating head in a non-contact manner. For example, when positioning the substrate while restricting the movement of the substrate in the horizontal direction by the restricting means, even if the substrate is caught between the outer peripheral end surface and the restricting means, the substrate is directed toward the substrate floating head. Therefore, the substrate is moved relatively stably integrally with the substrate floating head in a substantially horizontal state.

  According to the present invention, the substrate transfer position provided above the substrate processing position by moving the substrate floating head relative to the base member in the vertical direction while the substrate is supported in a non-contact manner by the substrate floating head. And the substrate processing position. Thus, since the substrate is delivered at the substrate delivery position above the substrate processing position, the substrate processing position can be positioned at a desired substrate processing position without being restricted by the circumstances at the time of substrate delivery. Therefore, the position where the base member and the substrate are sufficiently close can be set as the substrate processing position. As a result, the substrate can be positioned in a non-contact manner and at a substrate processing position close to the base member, so that problems such as damage or contamination of the lower surface of the substrate can be prevented.

<Substrate processing equipment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1 as viewed from above. This substrate processing apparatus supplies the substrate W such as a semiconductor wafer with a chemical solution such as a chemical or an organic solvent, or a rinse solution such as pure water or DIW (hereinafter referred to as “processing solution”). Is an apparatus that performs a chemical treatment, a rinse treatment, etc. on the upper surface of the substrate and the peripheral edge of the lower surface of the substrate W. For example, the substrate processing apparatus can supply a processing liquid to the upper surface of the substrate W to perform processing on the upper surface. Also, by supplying the processing liquid to the upper surface of the substrate W, the substrate processing apparatus It is possible to perform processing (bevel processing) on the peripheral edge of the lower surface of the substrate W by passing the processing liquid from the upper surface along the peripheral end surface of the substrate W to the lower surface thereof. In addition to the case where the processing liquid is supplied, it is also possible to scrub the surface of the substrate W with a scrub cleaning brush, or to supply vapor or the like containing a chemical solution to the surface of the substrate W for vapor phase processing.

  In this substrate processing apparatus, a hollow rotating shaft 1 is connected to a rotating shaft of a motor 2 and can be rotated around a vertical axis J by driving the motor 2. A circular spin base 5 corresponding to the “base member” of the present invention having a slightly larger planar size than the substrate W is integrally connected to the upper end portion of the rotating shaft 1 by fastening parts such as screws. . Therefore, the spin base 5 can rotate around the vertical axis J by driving the motor 2. Further, a plurality (eight in this embodiment) of support pins 3 are arranged at substantially equal angular intervals in the vicinity of the periphery of the spin base 5 (FIG. 2). In order to horizontally support the substrate W, the number of support pins 3 may be at least three. And each support pin 3 can contact | abut with the lower-surface peripheral part of the board | substrate W, and the back surface (non-device formation surface) of the board | substrate W was faced upward by these eight support pins 3, and Supported in a substantially horizontal state. Accordingly, the substrate W is positioned in the vertical direction in a substantially horizontal state at a position (substrate processing position P3) that is spaced apart from the spin base 5 by a predetermined distance. Note that the configuration of the support pins is not limited to the configuration in contact with the lower peripheral edge of the substrate W, and any configuration may be adopted as long as the substrate W is supported in a state of being slightly lifted from the spin base 5. Good.

  Further, in order to prevent the substrate W supported by the support pins 3 from moving in the horizontal direction, four holding members 4a to 4d are provided on the periphery of the spin base 1 (FIG. 2). Among these four holding members 4a to 4d, the holding members 4a and 4b are fixed holding members to which holding pins 41A that are held in contact with the substrate W are fixed, whereas the holding members 4c and 4d are holding pins 41B. A movable holding member that is movable. The movable holding pin 41B can be separated from and contacted to the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate W in accordance with an operation signal from a control unit 80 that controls the entire apparatus. The control unit 80 carries the substrate W into and out of the support pins 3 in a state where the movable holding pins 41B are separated from the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate W. Then, after the substrate W is placed on the support pins 3, the movable holding pin 41 </ b> B is positioned to the substrate holding position where it comes into contact with the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate W. Accordingly, the movable holding pin 41B sandwiches the substrate W with the fixed holding pin 41A and holds it in the horizontal direction. Thus, in this embodiment, the substrate W is supported in a substantially horizontal state by the eight support pins 3, and the horizontal movement of the substrate W is regulated by the four holding pins 41A, 41A, 41B, 41B. . As such a holding member, for example, a substrate holding mechanism disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-146708 is used. The number and arrangement of the holding members are arbitrary. For example, three holding members can be used, two can be fixed holding members, and the remaining one can be a movable holding member.

Returning to FIG. 1, the description will be continued. Thus, in this embodiment, since the substrate W is supported by the support pins 3, it is possible to support the substrate W in a state where the lower surface (device formation surface) of the substrate W and the spin base 5 are close to each other. It is. That is, the position where the lower surface of the substrate W and the spin base 5 are arranged close to each other can be set as the substrate processing position. However, if the lower surface of the substrate W and the spin base 5 are arranged close to each other, a transfer arm such as a substrate transfer robot cannot be inserted into the gap. For this reason, in this embodiment, the substrate lifting mechanism 7 is provided to perform the following substrate transport, whereby the lower surface of the substrate W and the spin base 5 are disposed close to each other while enabling the substrate transport robot to transport the substrate. ing. That is, the substrate lifting mechanism 7 receives the unprocessed substrate W from the substrate transfer robot,
-Placement of the received unprocessed substrate W on the support pins 3,
Receiving from the support pins 3 the processed substrate W that has undergone predetermined substrate processing;
The delivered processed substrate W is delivered to the substrate transfer robot.

  The substrate elevating mechanism 7 is attached to a substrate floating head 71 that floats the substrate W in a substantially horizontal state by discharging an inert gas such as nitrogen gas toward the lower surface of the substrate W, and below the substrate floating head 71. The inside of the head supporting arm 72 that supports the head is connected to the hollow portion of the hollow cylindrical head supporting arm 72 and the head supporting arm 72, and the gas supply capable of supplying the inert gas to the substrate floating head 71 via the head supporting arm 72. A unit 73 and an actuator 74 such as an air cylinder for moving the substrate floating head 71 and the head support arm 72 integrally in the vertical direction are provided. Thus, in this embodiment, the actuator 74 functions as the “lifting drive unit” of the present invention that drives the substrate floating head 71 to move up and down.

  The substrate floating head 71 is supported by the head support arm 72 in a horizontal posture with the bottom center portion fixed integrally with the upper end portion of the head support arm 72. The head support arm 72 is disposed in the hollow portion of the rotary shaft 1 so as to penetrate coaxially in the axial direction of the vertical axis J, and is configured to be vertically movable. The head support arm 72 is connected to the actuator 74, and the control unit 80 drives the actuator 74 so that the substrate floating head 71 and the head support arm 72 can be moved up and down integrally.

  The substrate floating head 71 has a disk shape smaller than the planar size of the substrate W, and its upper surface 71a is disposed opposite to the lower surface of the substrate W as a “support surface” of the present invention. A plurality of gas discharge ports 71 b (corresponding to “discharge ports” of the present invention) are provided on the upper surface 71 a of the substrate floating head 71, and each substrate discharge head 71 b extends in a substantially vertical direction toward the lower surface of the substrate W. An inert gas can be discharged upward. As a result, it is possible to supply the inert gas to the space formed between the lower surface of the substrate W and the upper surface 71a and to float the substrate W. Here, these gas discharge ports 71b are arranged at equal intervals along the circumference of an arbitrary diameter on the upper surface 71a with the vertical axis J as the center, as shown in FIG. By being arranged at the center of the axis, the substrate W can be floated from the upper surface 71a in a substantially horizontal state. As long as the inert gas is discharged toward the lower surface of the substrate W to float the substrate W in a substantially horizontal state, the number and arrangement of the gas discharge ports are arbitrary. Further, the gas discharge port 71b is not limited to a plurality of openings, but may be a single opening, for example, a concentric circular opening around the entire circumference around the vertical axis J. However, the use of a plurality of gas discharge ports is advantageous in that the gas discharge pressure is uniform.

  A plurality of gas discharge ports 71 b provided on the upper surface 71 a of the substrate floating head 71 communicate with a gas circulation space 71 c formed inside the substrate floating head 71. Such a substrate floating head 71 includes, for example, a dish-shaped receiving member having a concave portion on the inside, and a disk-shaped lid member whose upper surface 71a is a support surface facing the lower surface of the substrate W. The gas flow space 71 c is formed inside the substrate floating head 71 by fitting the lid member to the receiving member. A gas supply path 72a is provided in the head support arm 72 along the axial direction of the vertical axis J, and its upper side communicates with the gas flow space 71c. Further, the lower side of the gas supply path 72 a is connected to the gas supply unit 73 via a pipe 76 having an on-off valve 75 interposed.

  Next, the configuration of the spin base 5 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. The spin base 5 has a recess 5a that is recessed toward the inside at the center of the upper surface. The recess 5a is formed in the spin base 5 so that the plane size D1 is larger than the plane size D2 of the substrate floating head 71 and the depth H1 in the vertical direction is deeper than the height H2 of the substrate floating head 71. Has been. Therefore, when the substrate floating head 71 is lowered, the substrate floating head 71 can be retracted into the recess 5a. Further, the upper surface of the donut-shaped annular portion surrounding the periphery of the recess 5a is a substrate facing surface that faces the lower surface of the substrate W, and this facing surface 5b is the lower surface of the substrate W when the substrate W is lowered. And can be opposed in parallel with a predetermined distance.

  Further, a gap between the inner wall surface of the rotating shaft 1 and the outer wall surface of the head support arm 72 forms a cylindrical gas supply path 11. This gas supply path 11 is continuously connected to a gas supply unit 73 via a pipe 15 having an on / off valve 13 interposed therebetween, and the substrate W is connected to the substrate W via the gas supply path 11 by opening / closing control of the on / off valve 13 by the control unit 80. An inert gas can be supplied to a space formed between the lower surface of the base plate and the upper surface of the spin base 5.

  Next, the loading / unloading operation of the substrate W of the substrate processing apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a substrate carry-in / out operation of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. First, the control unit 80 raises the actuator 74 to raise the substrate floating head 71 and the head support arm 72 integrally (step S1). When the upper surface 71a of the substrate floating head 71 rises to a position just below the substrate delivery position P1 away from the spin base 5 and stops, the control unit 80 opens the opening / closing valve 75 to open the substrate floating head. The inert gas is discharged upward from the gas discharge port 71b of 71 (step S2). As a result, the substrate floating head 71 can receive the substrate W when the substrate W is transported to the substrate delivery position P1. The control unit 80 may raise the substrate floating head 71 in a state where the inert gas is discharged after discharging the inert gas from the gas discharge port 71b, or simultaneously with the discharge of the inert gas. The substrate floating head 71 may be raised.

  Subsequently, when the unprocessed substrate W is carried into the apparatus by the transport arm of the substrate transport robot and transferred to the substrate delivery position P1 (step S3), the unprocessed substrate W is located on the lower surface of the substrate W. It is levitated by the inert gas discharged from the levitating head 71. Then, the unprocessed substrate W is transferred to the substrate floating head 71 by the transfer arm of the substrate transfer robot being withdrawn from the unprocessed substrate W or the like (step S4). Thereby, the unprocessed substrate W is directed to the substrate floating head 71 in a non-contact state by an inert gas supplied to a space formed between the lower surface of the substrate W and the upper surface 71a of the substrate floating head 71 toward the lower surface. Will be supported. The unprocessed substrate W is restricted from moving in the horizontal direction by the holding pins 41 </ b> A and 41 </ b> B of the holding members 4 a to 4 d provided on the periphery of the spin base 5.

  Next, the unprocessed substrate W is lowered by causing the control unit 80 to drive the actuator 74 downward while the substrate floating head 71 is levitated in a substantially horizontal state (step S5). Here, since the unprocessed substrate W is lowered while being restricted by the holding pins 41A and 41B from moving in the horizontal direction, the substrate W does not jump out of the substrate floating head 71 in the horizontal direction, and the substrate can be smoothly moved. Guidance is directed toward the processing position P3. When the unprocessed substrate W reaches the substrate processing position P3, the peripheral edge of the lower surface of the substrate W is engaged with the support pin 3, and the substrate floating head 71 is further lowered to bring the unprocessed substrate W to the support pin 3. Delivered and placed on the support pin 3. In this way, the substrate W is positioned at the substrate processing position P3, and the lower surface peripheral portion of the substrate W and the facing surface 5b of the spin base 5 are disposed to face each other in a close state (step S6). Thus, in this embodiment, the holding pins 41A and 41B function as the “regulating means” of the present invention.

  Further, the substrate floating head 71 is lowered as it is, and the entire substrate floating head 71 is retracted into the recess 5 a of the spin base 5. Thereafter, the control unit 80 closes the on-off valve 75 to stop the discharge of the inert gas from the substrate floating head 71. The control unit 80 continues the discharge of the inert gas from the substrate floating head 71 as it is together with the supply of the inert gas from the gas supply path 11 to be described later without stopping the discharge of the inert gas. It may be.

  The unprocessed substrate W placed on the support pins 3 is firmly held in the horizontal direction by moving to the substrate holding position where the holding pins of the movable holding members 4c and 4d are in contact with the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate W (step S7). Thereafter, the processing liquid is supplied from the processing liquid supply nozzle (not shown) to the upper surface of the substrate W rotated together with the spin base 5, and the upper surface of the substrate W (non-device forming surface) and / or the lower surface of the substrate W (device forming surface). A predetermined process is performed on the peripheral edge (bevel) (step S8). During processing, the control unit 80 opens the on-off valve 13 to open the lower surface of the substrate W through a space formed between the lower surface of the substrate floating head 71 and the bottom surface of the recess 5a from the gas supply path 11. And an inert gas can be supplied to the entire space formed between the upper surface of the spin base 5. The inert gas supplied to the space formed between the lower surface of the substrate W and the upper surface of the spin base 5 is in the gap between the lower surface peripheral portion of the substrate W and the opposing surface 5b of the peripheral portion of the spin base 5. By flowing toward the outer side in the radial direction of the substrate W, the lower surface of the substrate W (device formation surface) is shielded from the ambient atmosphere of the substrate W, and the processing liquid adheres to the lower surface of the substrate W. Is prevented from being contaminated.

  Further, the unloading of the processed substrate W is performed in the reverse procedure to the unloading of the unprocessed substrate W. After the predetermined processing is performed on the substrate W, the holding pins of the movable holding members 4c and 4d move in a direction away from the outer peripheral end surface of the processed substrate W, thereby releasing the holding of the substrate W (step S9). ). Subsequently, the control unit 80 drives the actuator 74 upward to raise the substrate floating head 71 retracted in the recess 5a in a state where the inert gas is discharged from the gas discharge port 71a (step S10). As a result, the processed substrate W is floated in a substantially horizontal state by the inert gas discharged from the substrate floating head 71. Then, when the processed substrate W rises to the substrate delivery position P1, the drive of the actuator 74 is stopped and the substrate W is positioned at the position (step S11). Thereby, the substrate floating head 71 can deliver the processed substrate W to the substrate transport robot. In this way, the processed substrate W is carried out of the apparatus by the transfer arm or the like of the substrate transfer robot (step S12).

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the substrate W is supported by the substrate floating head 71 in a non-contact state, and the substrate floating head 71 is lifted and lowered to move the substrate delivery position P1 above the substrate processing position P3. And moved to the substrate processing position P3 for positioning. As described above, since the substrate W is transferred at the substrate transfer position P1 above the substrate processing position P3, the substrate processing position P3 is in a situation when the substrate W is transferred, for example, the vertical direction of the substrate transfer mechanism (transfer arm or the like). The substrate W can be positioned at a desired substrate processing position without being restricted by the height of the substrate. Therefore, the position where the spin base 5 (opposing surface 5b) and the substrate W are sufficiently close can be set as the substrate processing position. As described above, the substrate W can be positioned in a non-contact manner and at the substrate processing position P3 close to the spin base 5, so that the lower surface (device formation surface) of the substrate W is damaged or contaminated. Can be prevented.

  Further, according to this embodiment, the spin base 5 has a plane size D1 larger than the plane size D2 of the substrate floating head 71 at the center of the upper surface, and a depth H1 in the vertical direction is the height H2 of the substrate floating head 71. Since the larger recessed portion 5a is provided, when the substrate floating head 71 is lowered, the entire substrate floating head 71 can be retracted to the internal space of the recessed portion 5a. Thus, the substrate floating head 71 does not hinder the distance between the lower surface of the substrate W and the spin base 5 (opposing surface 5b), and the lower surface of the substrate W and the spin base 5 (opposing surface 5b) A position that is sufficiently close to each other can be set as a substrate processing position.

  Further, according to this embodiment, the substrate W lifted by the substrate floating head 71 is moved up and down while being restricted by the holding pins 41A and 41B from moving in the horizontal direction. Without jumping out in the horizontal direction, the substrate is smoothly guided and positioned at the substrate delivery position P1 and the substrate processing position P3.

  FIG. 4 is a view showing another embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 4 as viewed from above. This embodiment differs greatly from the previous embodiment in that the discharge direction of the inert gas discharged from the substrate floating head 710 toward the lower surface of the substrate W is different, and that the support pins 3 are unnecessary. In other respects, the configuration is basically the same as that of the previous embodiment. Accordingly, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. In the following, the features of the present embodiment will be described focusing on the differences.

  In this embodiment, the discharge direction of the inert gas discharged from the substrate floating head 710 toward the lower surface of the substrate W is not substantially upward in the vertical direction, but the inert gas is discharged upward and toward the edge of the substrate W. ing. As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of gas discharge ports 710b are formed at the peripheral edge portion of the upper surface 710a (corresponding to the “support surface” of the present invention) of the substrate floating head 710, and the upper surface 710a is long radially outward. It has an oval shape. The gas discharge port 710b is formed to discharge an inert gas toward the edge of the substrate W at a predetermined angle (preferably 20 ° to 40 °) with respect to the upper surface 710a. Accordingly, the inert gas is discharged from the substrate floating head 710 toward the lower surface of the substrate W, whereby the substrate W can be floated while being adsorbed on the upper surface 710a by the Bernoulli effect.

  With such a configuration, the substrate W can be positioned in a non-contact manner at the substrate processing position P3 or at the substrate delivery position P1 as in the previous embodiment. Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the substrate W is attracted toward the substrate floating head 71 by the Bernoulli effect, the substrate W can be stably transported in a substantially horizontal state. For this reason, the reliability of conveyance of the substrate W can be improved. For example, even when the substrate W is positioned while restricting the movement of the substrate W in the horizontal direction by the holding pins 41A and 41B, even when a catch occurs between the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate W and the holding pins 41A and 41B, Since a force for attracting the substrate W toward the substrate floating head 71 acts on the substrate W, the substrate W can be moved up and down stably and integrally with the substrate floating head 71 in a substantially horizontal state.

  Further, when positioning the substrate W at the substrate processing position P3, the substrate floating head 71 is lowered, and the substrate floating head 71 is stopped when the substrate W is positioned at the substrate processing position P3, so that the substrate W is processed as it is. It can be positioned at the position P3. This is because the substrate floating head 71 sucks and floats the substrate W so that the substrate W can be positioned in the vertical direction while being separated from the substrate floating head 71 by a predetermined distance. For this reason, when positioning the substrate W at the substrate processing position P3, there is no need for a substrate support member such as the support pins 3 for placing the substrate W in a state where it is floated from the spin base 5 by a predetermined distance. it can.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications other than those described above can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the substrate floating head 71 is moved up and down to position the substrate W at the substrate delivery position P1 and the substrate processing position P3. However, the substrate floating head 71 is fixed and the spin base 5 is moved up and down. In this case, the substrate W may be positioned. Further, the substrate W may be positioned by moving both the substrate floating head 71 and the spin base 5 up and down.

  In the above embodiment, the entire substrate floating head 71 is retracted into the recess 5a of the spin base 5. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and at least the lower part of the substrate floating head 71 enters the recess 5a. If you do. That is, when the substrate W is positioned at the predetermined substrate processing position P3, even if the upper surface 71a of the substrate floating head 71 is outside the recess 5a, the substrate W is positioned lower than the lower surface of the substrate W positioned at the substrate processing position P3. If it exists, the effect similar to the said embodiment is acquired.

<Substrate processing system>
In addition, the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention may be used alone, but a substrate processing system is constructed in combination with a substrate processing apparatus that performs other substrate processing, a substrate transport unit that transports the substrate W, an indexer unit, and the like. May be. One example is a substrate processing system shown in FIG. Hereinafter, an embodiment of a substrate processing system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a view showing an embodiment of a substrate processing system configured using the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. This substrate processing system is a single wafer processing system for processing a substrate W such as a semiconductor wafer with a processing liquid or a processing gas. The substrate processing system includes a substrate processing unit PP for processing a substrate W, an indexer unit ID coupled to the substrate processing unit PP, and a configuration for supplying / discharging a processing fluid (liquid or gas). The processing fluid boxes 110 and 120 are accommodated.

  The indexer unit ID is a cassette C for accommodating the substrates W (FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) for accommodating a plurality of substrates W in a sealed state, SMIF (Standard Mechanical Inter Face) pod, OC (Open Cassette), etc.) A cassette holding unit 210 that can hold a plurality of substrates, and the cassette C held in the cassette holding unit 210 is accessed to take out an unprocessed substrate W from the cassette C or to transfer a processed substrate to the cassette C. And an indexer robot 220 for storage. Each cassette C is provided with a plurality of shelves (not shown) for stacking and holding a plurality of substrates W in the vertical direction with minute intervals, and one substrate W on each shelf. Can be held. Each shelf is configured to contact the peripheral edge of the lower surface of the substrate W and hold the substrate W from below. The substrate W has the front surface (device formation surface) facing upward and the back surface facing downward. The cassette C is accommodated in a substantially horizontal posture.

  The substrate processing unit PP has a substrate transfer robot 130 disposed substantially in the center in plan view, and a frame 300 to which the substrate transfer robot 130 is attached. The frame 300 is provided with a plurality (four in this embodiment) of unit arrangement units 310, 320, 330, and 340 so as to surround the substrate transfer robot 130, and is further accessed by the substrate transfer robot 130. The substrate reversing unit 140 is attached at a position where the above can be performed.

  In the unit arrangement units 310, 320, 330, and 340, the substrate processing apparatus according to the above embodiment is unitized to hold and rotate the substrate W in addition to the processing unit, and supply the chemical solution from the chemical nozzle to the substrate W. A chemical solution processing unit MP that processes W, holds and rotates the substrate W, supplies pure water to the substrate W, and also holds and rotates the scrub cleaning unit SS that scrubs the substrate surface with a scrub brush, and the substrate W. A polymer removal unit SR for supplying a polymer removal liquid to the substrate W to remove residues on the substrate W, holding and rotating the substrate W, and applying a treatment liquid to the entire area of one side of the substrate W and a region including the peripheral end surface. A bevel cleaning unit CB for supplying and selectively removing unnecessary substances in this region, and a vapor or chemical containing a chemical on the substrate W held It can be attached to any of the processing units selected from the gas phase cleaning unit VP for processing a substrate W by supplying vapor containing gas. That is, the frame 300 provides a common platform for the above-described multiple types (six types in this embodiment) of processing units, and a plurality of types (up to four types) of processing units are mounted in any combination. It is configured to be able to. Thereby, it is possible to easily cope with a process corresponding to a new material and a process corresponding to miniaturization. In addition, when two types of processing units are mounted, one first type processing unit is mounted and three second type processing units are mounted according to the processing tact. It is also possible to mount two processing units and two second type processing units.

  With this configuration, since at least two types of processing units are provided in one substrate processing system together with the substrate transport unit, two or more types of processing are continuously performed on the substrate W by one substrate processing system. Is possible. Thereby, it can respond | correspond favorably to multi-item small quantity production. In addition, when a plurality of processes are required, throughput can be improved by processing the substrate W continuously.

  Each processing unit (chemical solution processing unit MP, scrub cleaning unit SS, polymer removal unit SR, bevel cleaning unit CB, and vapor phase cleaning unit VP) has a common base unit as a basic skeleton. Has the same configuration as the substrate processing apparatus according to the above embodiment. A common substrate delivery position P1 is set in the height direction in order to deliver the substrate W to and from the substrate transport robot 130 at the substrate delivery position P1. Therefore, no matter which processing unit is arranged in the substrate processing unit PP, the access from the substrate transfer robot 130 is performed without change.

  The substrate transfer robot 130 can receive the unprocessed substrate W from the indexer robot 220 and can transfer the processed substrate W to the indexer robot 220. In addition, the substrate transfer robot 130 can access the processing units and the substrate reversing unit 140 arranged in the unit arrangement units 310, 320, 330, and 340, and transfer the substrate W between them. Can be done.

  More specifically, for example, the substrate transfer robot 130 includes a base unit fixed to the frame 300 of the substrate processing unit PP, a lift base attached to the base unit so as to be lifted and lowered, A rotation base attached so as to be able to rotate about a vertical axis with respect to the base, and a pair of hands attached to the rotation base are provided. Each of the pair of substrate holding hands is configured to be able to be in a body in a direction approaching / separating from the rotation axis of the rotation base. With such a configuration, the substrate transport robot 130 directs the substrate holding hand to any one of the indexer robot 220, the processing units disposed in the unit placement units 310, 320, 330, and 340 and the substrate reversing unit 140. In this state, the substrate holding hand can be advanced and retracted, whereby the substrate W can be transferred.

  The pair of substrate holding hands may be selectively used so that one is used to hold an unprocessed substrate W and the other is used to hold a processed substrate W. The pair of substrate holding hands is one substrate holding hand when the substrate W is transferred to and from the processing unit arranged in the indexer robot 220, the unit arrangement units 310, 320, 330, and 340 and the substrate reversing unit 140. You may make it operate | move so that the board | substrate W may be received from the other party and then the board | substrate W may be delivered to the other party side with the other board | substrate holding hand.

  The indexer robot 220 takes out an unprocessed substrate W from one of the cassettes C and delivers it to the substrate transport robot 130, and operates to receive the processed substrate W from the substrate transport robot 130 and store it in the cassette C. . The processed substrate W may be stored in the cassette C that is stored when the substrate W is in an unprocessed state, or the cassette C that stores the unprocessed substrate W and the processed substrate W are stored. The cassette C to be processed may be separated, and the processed substrate W may be stored in a cassette C different from the cassette C stored in the unprocessed state.

  The substrate transfer robot 130 can carry the substrate W into the substrate reversing unit 140 and reverse the front and back of the substrate W. Therefore, in the processing units arranged in the unit arrangement units 310, 320, 330, and 340, the substrate W The processing can be performed on both the device forming surface and the non-device forming surface.

  With this configuration, since the front and back of the substrate W can be reversed between the two types of processing units, different processing by the two types of processing units can be performed on the front and back surfaces of the substrate W. Thereby, an optimal process can be performed on each of both surfaces of the substrate W. More specifically, the other surface of the substrate W can be processed by carrying it into a certain processing unit, inverting the substrate W, and carrying the inverted substrate W into another processing unit for processing. Thereby, the process suitable for each surface of the board | substrate W can be performed, and both surfaces of the board | substrate W can be processed favorably.

  With respect to the substrate processing system configured as described above, a cassette C containing a plurality of substrates W with the front surface (device forming surface) of the substrate W facing upward is transferred by the indexer robot 220 to the indexer unit ID. Then, each substrate W is processed as follows. Here, for example, the processing unit of the substrate processing apparatus according to the above embodiment is arranged in the unit arrangement unit 310, and the processing unit causes the back surface of the substrate (non-device forming surface) and / or the surface of the substrate W (device forming surface). The operation of the system in the case of processing the peripheral part will be described.

  First, after the indexer robot 220 takes out the substrate W from the cassette C in the face-up state and delivers it to the substrate transport robot 130, the substrate transport robot 130 transports the substrate W to the substrate reversing unit 140 (loading). Then, the substrate reversing unit 140 that has received the substrate W inverts the substrate W and then transfers it to the substrate transport robot 130 in a face-down state, that is, with the device formation surface facing downward. The substrate transfer robot 130 is carried into a processing unit arranged in the unit arrangement unit 310.

  In this processing unit, in order to receive the unprocessed substrate W from the substrate transfer robot 130 at the substrate transfer position P1, preparations for receiving the substrate W are made in a state where the substrate floating head 71 is raised and the inert gas is discharged in advance. . When the unprocessed substrate W is received from the substrate transfer robot 130 at the substrate delivery position P1, the processing unit performs the same operation as the substrate processing apparatus according to the above-described embodiment to position the substrate W at the substrate processing position P3. The upper surface (non-device formation surface) of the substrate W and / or the lower surface (device formation surface) peripheral edge portion (bevel portion) of the substrate W is cleaned. At this time, similarly to the substrate processing apparatus, the substrate W can be positioned at the substrate processing position P3 close to the base member in a non-contact manner, so that the lower surface (device forming surface) of the substrate W is damaged or processed. Problems such as contamination of the liquid due to adhesion of the liquid to the lower surface of the substrate W can be prevented.

  When the cleaning process is completed, the substrate floating head 71 retracted in the recess 5a rises to receive the processed substrate W from the support pins 3, and rises to the substrate delivery position P1 for positioning. (If the substrate W is being processed while being adsorbed and floated by the Bernoulli effect, the processed substrate W is raised and positioned to the substrate delivery position P1 as it is.) Then, the substrate is transferred from the substrate delivery position P1. The robot 130 receives the processed substrate W and transports it to the substrate reversing unit 140. Then, after the substrate reversing unit 140 puts the substrate W in a face-up state, the substrate transport robot 130 receives the substrate W, and further transfers it to the indexer robot 220. Then, the indexer robot 220 returns to the cassette C (unloading). ). In addition, when another process is continuously executed after the processing by the processing unit, the substrate transfer robot 130 transfers the substrate W in the face-down state as it is or to the substrate reversing unit 140 according to the processing content. After the face-up state is reached, it is transported to other processing units (chemical solution processing unit MP, scrub cleaning unit SS, polymer removal unit SR, bevel cleaning unit CB, and vapor phase cleaning unit VP).

  As described above, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiment, since the substrate W is delivered at the substrate delivery position P1 above the substrate processing position P3, delivery of the substrate W to and from the substrate transport robot 130 is easy. In addition, since the substrate W can be transferred at the substrate transfer position P1 and the substrate W can be positioned at a desired substrate processing position, it is suitable as a processing unit for performing several different types of processing. That is, the substrate processing apparatus according to the above embodiment has a high versatility as a processing unit, and has an advantage that it can be easily incorporated into the unit placement portions 310, 320, 330, and 340 in which various processing units can be placed. Further, since the substrate W can be positioned at the substrate processing position P3 close to the base member in a non-contact manner, problems such as damage or contamination of the lower surface of the substrate W are effectively prevented. For this reason, the processing accuracy of the substrate W can be increased.

  In the substrate processing apparatus according to the above embodiment, since the substrate W is transferred at the substrate transfer position P1 and positioned at the substrate processing position P3, the following effects can be obtained. That is, in order to increase the processing accuracy, it is desirable to position the substrate W at the substrate processing position P3 close to the base member. However, when the substrate W is directly positioned at the substrate processing position P3, the lower surface of the substrate W and the base member It becomes difficult to adopt a widely used substrate transport mechanism in which a substrate transport mechanism such as a transport arm enters a space formed between the two and the substrate W and passes the substrate W to a support pin or the like. As a result, a restriction condition that a special substrate transport mechanism is required occurs, and the versatility of the substrate processing apparatus is lowered.

  Here, for example, in an apparatus for processing the rear end of the substrate W (non-device forming surface) or the peripheral edge of the surface of the substrate W (device forming surface), the substrate W is used as a base member without contacting the surface of the substrate W. In order to carry to the substrate processing position which adjoins, it is also possible to take the following system. That is, a rod-shaped arm whose one end is connected to a rotation shaft and configured to be rotatable, and the other end of the arm is substantially aligned with the lengthwise direction of the arm and the radial direction of the substrate W. In a transport mechanism that includes a substrate holding unit that holds the substrate W by contacting the edge of the substrate W, the arm that holds the substrate W held by the substrate holding unit in a face-up state about the rotation axis is 180. It can also be placed close to the base member in a face-down state (with the device formation surface facing downward) by rotating it by turning it.

  However, the above transport method requires a very large area because the arm needs to be rotated in order to transport the substrate W. For this reason, the chamber shutter etc. for interrupting | blocking the footprint of an apparatus and the inside / outside atmosphere of a substrate processing apparatus will become large. In addition, since the transport mechanism has a complicated structure, the cost increases. Furthermore, when a substrate processing system is constructed by combining a processing unit that processes the substrate W in a face-up state and a processing unit that processes the substrate W in a face-down state, the substrate can be transported by the transport method described above. Can not.

  On the other hand, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, the substrate W is transferred to and from the substrate transfer robot 130 at the substrate transfer position P1 above the substrate processing position P3. Even if it is a case where it is set as the position where the member was arranged near, it is not necessary to introduce a special conveyance mechanism. Therefore, a transport mechanism such as a transport arm having a simple configuration can be employed. Further, since the transfer arm is not rotated, the transfer path of the transfer arm is limited, and the chamber shutter or the like may be small.

  In the substrate processing system according to this embodiment, four processing units are equipped as processing units, but the number and arrangement thereof are arbitrary. In addition, if the substrate processing system is provided with at least a processing unit having the same configuration as the substrate processing apparatus according to the above embodiment and a transport unit for transporting the substrate to the processing unit, the above-described effects can be obtained. can get. Therefore, in addition to the processing unit and the transfer unit, other units may be added to construct the substrate processing system.

  The present invention is applied to a substrate processing apparatus for performing a process such as a cleaning process on the entire surface of a substrate including a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a photomask, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, a glass substrate for a plasma display, and an optical disk substrate. can do.

It is a figure showing one embodiment of a substrate processing device concerning this invention. It is the top view which looked at the substrate processing apparatus of Drawing 1 from the upper part. It is a flowchart which shows the board | substrate carrying in / out operation | movement of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows other embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus concerning this invention. It is the top view which looked at the substrate processing apparatus of Drawing 5 from the upper part. It is a figure showing one embodiment of a substrate processing system constituted using a substrate processing device concerning this invention.

Explanation of symbols

5 ... Spin base (base member)
5a ... depression 41A, 41B ... holding pin (regulating means)
71, 710 ... Substrate floating head 71a, 710a ... Upper surface (support surface) of (the floating head)
71b, 710b ... (for floating head) Gas discharge port (discharge port)
74 ... Actuator (lifting drive means)
D1 ... Plane size (of the flying head) D2 ... Plane size (of the depression) H1 ... Height of the (flying head) H2 ... Depth (of the depression) P1 ... Substrate delivery position P3 ... Substrate processing position W ... Substrate

Claims (5)

In a substrate processing apparatus for performing predetermined processing on a substrate positioned in a substantially horizontal state at a substrate processing position that is spaced apart from the base member by a predetermined distance,
A substrate floating head that floats the substrate in a substantially horizontal state by discharging gas toward the lower surface of the substrate from an ejection port provided on a support surface facing the lower surface of the substrate;
A substrate delivery position provided above the substrate processing position by moving the substrate floating head up and down relative to the base member to move the substrate floating by the substrate floating head; and A substrate processing apparatus comprising: an elevating drive means for moving and positioning to a processing position. The base member has a recess having a planar size larger than the planar size of the substrate floating head at the center of the upper surface thereof,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the substrate floating head is lowered, at least a lower portion of the substrate floating head enters the recess.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the concave portion is deeper than a height of the substrate floating head in the vertical direction, and when the substrate floating head is lowered, the entire substrate floating head is retracted into the concave portion. Further comprising a regulating means for regulating the horizontal movement of the substrate,
The raising / lowering driving means drives the substrate floating head to move up and down relatively with respect to the base member while regulating the movement of the substrate levitated by the substrate floating head in the horizontal direction by the restriction means. 4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is moved and positioned between the substrate delivery position and the substrate processing position. The substrate flying head floats while adsorbing the substrate in the proximity of the support surface by the Bernoulli effect by discharging the gas upward from the discharge port toward the lower surface of the substrate and toward the edge of the substrate. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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